Area retailers say shelves cleared within an hour

November 23, 2005

MISHAWAKA -- Local stores reported crowds waiting through the overnight hours for the Xbox 360. More than 100 people waited in line at Best Buy, 6502 Grape Road, Mishawaka, with the first person showing up as early as 5:30 p.m. Monday, store manager Tim Bower said. Store managers distributed tickets for the Microsoft gaming and multimedia consoles around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, and rang the first sale at 9:01 a.m., Bower said. By 10 a.m., the store had sold all 60 of its units. The average sale -- including the console and whatever accessories each consumer picked up -- was $700, he said. "We made some families happy," Bower said. The rumor, Bower said, is that it could be February before the store gets more units in. But he added that similar rumors were circulating when Sony's PlayStation2 was released, but shipments came in earlier than expected. The truth is, nobody knows when the next shipment will come, Bower said. At Circuit City, 5944 Grape Road, Mishawaka, more than 60 people waited for just 12 units. "It was kind of a little crazy," but the crowds were civil, said Chris Kretchmer, customer service manager. Circuit City's first customers showed up in line around 9:30 p.m. Monday, he said.